Safety deposit-box and lock construction



APPLICATIQN FILED MAY 20, I9l9.

Patented May 10,1921.

if u oxwe 5 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

PETER M. WEGE, or GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, Assrernon TO INVINcIB METAL OFFICE FURNITURE COMPANY, on MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

SAFETY DEPOSIT-BOX AND LOCK CON STRUGTION.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patg ted w 10 1921.

' Application filed May 20, 1919. Serial No. 298,541.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER M. WEGE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, hav invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Deposit-Box and Look Constructions; and I do hereby declare the following to'be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to safety deposit vaults and boxes therefor, and is primarily concerned with means for rendering access to a box within a vault a substan tial impossibility except by means of a key or keys to unlock the door to the vault in which the box is placed. Most, in fact practically all of the doors to the cells or vaults in which the boxes are placed have a lock attached to the rear side of the door by screws, the lock usually being operable by means of two keys, one in the possession of the attendant and the other in the possession of the owner of the box, the key receiving barrels or cylinders projecting through the door. It is" comparatively easy to gain access to box locked with a lock of this character as a blow applied to the end of the key cylinder will serve to strip the threads from the screws and disconnect the look from the door, the lock being driven into th vault or 'cell in which the box is located. It is getting to be quite common for burglaries to occur in which all of'the locks are driven from the doors of safety deposit vaults and valuables taken, the present common type of safety deposit lock being little or no protection. I

In my invention it is designed that the lock on the door to a cell in a safety deposit vault shall be reinforced and held absolutelyand positively against such removal. The invention comprises means for attaining this end in an especially simple, practical, effective and economical manner, making the vault or cell in which thebox is.

F1gure l is a perspective view illustratmg my inventlonand its application in operative position 1n connection with safetv deposlt boxes. n

F 1g. 2 is a perspective view of the box used and showing the position of the protectlng bar when the box is placed in or withdrawn from the vault, and

Flg. 3 isa vertical longitudinal section through a box receiving cell, and showing the posltlon of said bar and its relation to the lock on the door of the cell.

Llke reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawmg.

I have shown the invention in connection .with a two cell holder or vault for reception of the boxes, but it is to be understood that such invention is applicable to all of the cells of a vault irrespective of the number of cells there may be. 'As shown the vault has a top 1, bottom 2, backs and sides a with a dividing partition 4 making it lnto two cells, each having an open front side which may be closed by a door 5 and locked by a lock 6. This lock projects a distance back of the back of the door and is attached to the door by screws 7. The lock has two key receiving barrels or cylinders 8 which extend through the door and in which the keys may be inserted for operatron of the lock in the usual way with safety depos t vaults. The construction of safety deposit box cell and door and lock therefor is the usual and common construction, and blows applied to the exposed ends of the key cylinders 8 may easily drive th lock from the door as heretofore explained.

The box adapted to be placedwithin the cells is of any preferred construction. usually of sheet metal and said box v9 has a e hinged cover 10 for ready access thereto. On the front side 11 thereof a relatively heavy and strong bar 12 is pivotally mounted, preferably being spaced a short distance from said front by a block 13, a screw 14 passing through both the bar 12 and the block 13. This bar when turned horizontal as shown in Fig. 2 serves as a convenient handle to the box 9 for withdrawing the same or for placing it back into th cell. When turned to vertical position in the cell, its lower end is adapted to enter a groove or slot 15 cut or otherwise formed in the bottom 2, while its upper end passes between the downturned flanges of a channel 16 fixed to th upper side 1 of the cell. The slot 15 and channel 16 are so located that when the bar is turned to vertical position and the door 5 closed, the back of the lock 6 lies practically against this bar.

It is evident that any attempted driving of the lock loose from the door with this construction cannot take place successfully. The bar is relatively heavy and strong and is held positively at both ends from any movement inward into the box receiving cell. The lock is backed by the bar and can not be driven off of the door. While it is designed that the bar shall be attached to the front 1.1 of the box, both from the advantage gained in having a serviceable handle to the box and from the convenience in always having the bar ready for use when the box is placed back in the cell, it is evident that the ends will be served so far as safe guarding the lock is concerned by placing the bar loose from the box in the slot 15 and channel 16; also that many other specific forms of guarding bar may be used to attain this result. The construction shown is the best which now occurs to me but I do not wish to be limited specifically thereto but consider myself entitled to all forms'of construction which fall within the scope of the appended claims defining the invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a receptacle having an open side, a door for closing said open side, a lock on the rear side of the door, and means disposed between opposite sides of the receptacle and held at its ends by said sides of the receptacle positioned to lie directly back of the lock when'the door is closed and thereby safeguard the lock from detachment from the door, substantially as described.

2'. In a safety deposit vault having a cell for reception of a box, said cell having an open front, a door for closing the said open front of the cell, a lock attached to the rear side of the door for locking the door in closed position, and a bar removably held between opposite sides of the cell and positioned directly back of said lock thereby safeguarding the look from detachment from the door. i

V 3. In a safety deposit vault having a cell with an open front, a door for closing said open front, a lock on the rear side of the door for locking the door in closed position, a bar adapted to be disposed directly back of the lock, and means at opposed sides of the cell to hold the bar at its ends against inward movement into the cell, substantially as described.

4:. In a safety deposit vault having a cell with an open front, a door to close the'front of the cell, a lock on the rear side of the door for locking the same in closed position, a bar positioned vertically in the cell directly back of the lock, said bar having its lower end received in a groove in the lower side of the cell and its upper end held against rearward movement by means attached to the upper side of the cell, substantially as described.

5. In a safety deposit vault having a cell with an open front, a door for closing the front of the cell, a lock-on the door for locking the door in closed position, a member positioned transversely of the cell and attached to the upper side thereof, and a bar located directly back of the lock, its upper end coming in front of said member, and its lower end being received in a groove in-the lower side of the cell, substantially as described.

6. In combination, a safety deposit vault having a cell with an open front, a box located in the cell, a door for closing the front of the cell, a lock attached to the back of the door for locking the same in closed position, a bar pivotally attached; to the front of the box, said bar being adapted to be turned in to vertical or horizontal positions, and means associated with the upper and lower sides of the cell in front of which the upper and lower ends of the bar come when it is in vertical position direct y back of the lock, substantially as and for t e pur poses described.

7. In combination, a safety deposit vault having a cell with an open front, a box located in the cell, a bar pivotally attached to the front of the box and adapted to be turned to vertical position, said lower side of the cell having a slot or groove therein to receive the lower end of the bar when it is in vertical position, and said upper side of the cell having a member attached transversely thereof with which the upper end of the bar has engagement to prevent inward movement thereof when in vertical position, a door to close the front of the cell, and a lock on the rear side of the door for locking the door in closed position, said lock lying directly in front of the bar when the bar is placed vertically and the door is closed, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

PETER M. WEGE. 

